


Iced Coffee

by IhavesoldmysoultoColdflash



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Prison Break, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Adorable Cisco Ramon, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Attempted Murder, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Attempted Sexual Assault, Bad Puns, Barry Allen & Iris West Friendship, Bisexual Barry Allen, Bisexual Cisco Ramon, Coming Out, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hot Cocoa, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iris West Is An Awesome Sister, Joe finds out, Leonard Snart is a Softie, Lewis Snart's A+ Parenting, M/M, Mick ships it, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pansexual Leonard Snart, Past Child Abuse, Protective Joe West, Protective Leonard Snart, Scars, Tattoos, They watch Grease, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, jitters, you will get cavities
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 01:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7020298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IhavesoldmysoultoColdflash/pseuds/IhavesoldmysoultoColdflash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry Allen works at Jitters with Iris, Cisco, Mick, Lisa and most importantly Leonard. They end up finding each other. As their relationship progresses their faced with obstacles they would have never imagined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys this is my first fic so I hope you like it special thanks to phanspork for being my beta.

The coffee shop. It all started with that damn coffee shop. 

Barry Allen, was the awkward, nerdy, anthropology student from Central City University. He was pretty clumsy and has messy brown hair and soft green eyes . When his father was incarcerated for the murder of his mother, he was taken in by the leading officer in the case, Joe West. He ended up living with Joe's family (Iris, Joe's daughter, and Wally, his son) until he went off to university. Barry now lives in an apartment off campus with his best friend and co-worker, Cisco Ramon.

 

Barry somehow got roped into working in the back kitchen of Jitters by his adoptive sister and the manager of the place, Iris. Jitters was the coffee shop that Iris , Barry, Cisco , Mick Rory, Lisa Snart and Leonard Snart worked in. Iris was the Manager,she was a natural leader. Barry and Leonard worked in the back, preferring to be behind the scenes. Mick, Cisco and Lisa all worked in front, Mick ran the drink machines with Cisco and Lisa worked the till . The shop always has a warm, friendly atmosphere, littered with college students not unlike the ones that worked there in the first place. Being the person test he is Joe frequently pops in, checks on his kids and buys coffee and dougnuts for the whole crew. They never tell him that they get it for free anyways.

Barry didn't mind his job and the pay was good but there was just one problem. Leonard Snart. Leonard Snart was the cocky, sarcastic, smart ass that was forced to work in the back with him. With his close-cropped hair the color of dark chocolate, and blue eyes that seem to be the canvas for his emotions. Barry, well he had a crush on him. A crush that took his heart and well crushed it. Leonard had plenty of quirks, most of them harmless but all of them annoying. Probably the worst of all, are the nicknames. 

Snart has nicknames for everyone. Barry is Scarlet, mainly because he was wearing red when he met Leonard on his first day, but also because at the time his face was the color of a tomato. Mick is Heatwave because of his affinity for fire and an "accident" that involved a match and some grease. Iris is Boss for... obvious reasons. Cisco is Vibe for his uncanny ability to know what people order and to sense when rush hour started. And Lisa is Golden Glider for who knows what reason. Only Leonard and Lisa know, though it’s probably a inside joke.

There seems to be a lot of those between them. Things like Rip Hunter, Firestorm, even prison are on the list, and it seems like it goes on forever. Or at least long enough so whenever Barry asks about any of the between then he gets a "oh its a very long story " or "its just too long to tell you" or silence depending on which Snart you talk to. But Snart was slowly becoming part of Barry's life and he couldn't do a thing about it.

Barry had just come home from Dr. Snow's (She was his Anthropology professor) class. As he sank down on the sofa, he started talking to Iris about Snart. 

"He's such a fucking prick!" Barry yelled into the pillow as Iris walked to the mini fridge in Barry's apartment.

"What'd he do this time? "Iris replied, annoyed.

Barry groaned "He keeps doing that thing." 

Iris rolled her eyes "What thing?" 

"The thing he does with his lip, I mean it's not like his lips aren't already fricking gorgeous but he just......" Barry trailed off. 

"Shit...Um...so..." Barry muttered as his face turns scarlet, quickly turning away from Iris's now interested gaze.

"Bar, I thought you hated Snart. " Iris said, teasing.

Barry squeaked against the pillow "Well, no." 

"Did you just call Leonard Snart's lips gorgeous?" Iris inquired. 

The jingling of keys alerted the siblings to another person in the apartment. As Iris looked up, (Barry still had his face buried in the pillow) she saw his roommate, Cisco.

Cisco looked at the situation, Barry with his face completely scarlet and buried in a pillow ,and Iris looking at Barry like her father would look at a hardened criminal that he'd been trying to get information out of. Cisco glanced at Barry then at Iris then back to Barry. 

"Snart?" Cisco guessed. 

"Uh huh. "Barry admitted defeatedly. 

Iris looked around the room and said through her teeth " Barry is there some reason Cisco knows more about you 

and Snart than I do?"

Cisco's eyes flicked around the room and they eventually landed on Barry . He then dragged Barry into the kitchen in a huff.

"Dude are you at least out to her? You told me you were but after that conversation..." Cisco started stammering. 

Barry couldn't look Cisco in the eyes"Um kind of ,like she knows I like guys also but like um, well I haven't had a boyfriend,and um Len kind of - "

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you man. " Cisco stated as he rubbed his neck nervously " now go have a chat with your sister I'll be out, text me when you're done."

Barry trudged out of the kitchen and sat down with his sister as he heard the door close. 

"You know the apartment has very thin walls Bar. " Iris said smoothly. 

"Does this mean i don't have to have this conversation with you?" Barry asked timidly. 

Iris laughed " Not one part of it at least, now tell me all about your new crush, with the quote unquote gorgeous lips."

Barry eyed her with suspicion " What's it to you?" He suddenly sighed " He probably isn't interested anywa-"

 

"No." Iris said forcefully " I won't let you dig yourself into a hole because of this man, go for it Barry Allen. And besides " she teased "I know he's not straight"

Barry perked up and then they both launched into a long conversation about Leonard Snart. It grew dark out and soon Iris had to leave to catch the last bus back to her dorm . After she left Barry called Cisco and told him it was safe to come back. Little did the others know some other people were having a very similar conversation. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leonard Snart crashed when he got home from Jitters , walked right by everything and flopped on the big couch in the middle of the open area that was the living room. It was the perfect distance between the TV ,fridge, and the table they did their work on. Meaning it was a short distance away from the fridge and TV and far away from the desk. The whole place was quite tiny , only having a small living space and kitchen area but it has two bedrooms, so it didn't make much of a difference. 

"Why did i take this job?" Leonard groaned into the couch. 

Mick said bluntly "Because we needed money. "

"But why did i keep it?!" Leonard snapped "I have to put up with other people, I'm not even good at that, I'm a sarcastic son of a bitch and that's why they put me in the back!"

Mick stopped and said shortly," Maybe you actually like the job."

Leonard paused for a moment , he thought to himself " Fuck, FUCK!, dammit he's right , I don't hate this job , I just fucking hate working in fucking general!" 

"Ugh. " He turned around and looked at Mick "Maybe you're right bu-"

Lisa walked in at that exact moment "Hello boys. " she looked at the situation" Well,well,well what do we have here, 

my brother looking awfully embarrassed and Fire boy over there looking,well normal for him" Leonard and Mick looked at each other" Hmm brother, you seem tense , you have that coffee shop boy on your mind, Lenny.?" 

Leonard snorted at the thought "Lisa please I have other things to worry about "

Lisa's eyes sparkled" Who is it?"

Len rolled his eyes

Lisa laughed "is it the one you work with ,the one you call Scarlet" she mused "You seem to have a uncanny amount of affection twords him." 

Leonard looked for an escape out of this conversation , I mean he was out sure, but he didn't talk about his love life much, especially with his sister. So he stayed quiet , something he rarely does, he'd normally say something sarcastic and move on ,but this time something was different, something told him staying silent has his best bet of getting out of this conversation so he took it.

"Something up brother?, Silence doesn't suit you, did I hit a nerve?" Lisa retorted to Leonard's silence. 

"No." Leonard said almost a little harshly " My day has just been just peachy. " his sarcasm showed through his words a bit too clearly. 

Lisa slowly backed out of the conversation "Okay, okay no need to get hostile brother,just talk to him , I'm sure you  
can just talk to him,besides I know things about him that you don't."

Leonard glared at Lisa "What things ?"

"Well for starters ,I know his adoptive sister, Iris,is close to him. " Lisa remarked

Leonard smirked " okay, what else?"

Lisa shrugged " I don't know ,why don't you, " She fakes a gasp, "Ask her."

Leonard laughed "And what get information on her straight brother."

Mick ,who had been intently listening to the conversation , piped up " Sure, you can always torture to get information. " he shrugged " I mean it works for me, and apparently Lisa ,it seems. "

Leonard , with his usual sarcasm answered " Yeah , I'm squealing like a pig. "

Mick answered " Well we didn't know about your thing with , whats his name again Lis-?

"Barry , his name is Barry Allen. " Leonard interjected. 

Lisa smirked "And you tell me you didn't ask to be put in the back with him, brother. "

Mick shrugged "I mean Len shes not wr-"

Leonard cut Mick off " first of all, " Leonard said forcefully," I told you to stop using that nickname, and secondly, " his tone calmer," I only asked to put him back there so we wouldn't be overwhelmed at rush hour. "

Mick and Lisa looked at each other and exchanged a look of "Here we go again. " and looked back at Leonard

Lisa pursed her lips and said " Look , I've seen you go down this path before, you see someone you like, you get them roped into you while you push yourself away because you think you don't deserve them, all the brooding over this, thinking that you're ruined, that you're... broken, " Her voice cracked at that last word, " But we see through your façade , me and Mick see through you like you're make of glass, " she looked into Leonard's eyes "Promise me you won't do that again ,please." 

Leonard shakily got to his feet " Okay sis. " his face was emotionless except for his eyes , eyes that hold many secrets, he dropped his sarcasm " Honestly you're righ-"

Suddenly an alarm went off with a shrill BEEP, and snapped the trio from their conversation , they all got to their feet and started to get ready for class( as they had night classes) and they all left for campus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning Jitters was slow, only one or two customers so the door to the back was propped open so that conversation could flow freely through the entire shop, both men Barry and Leonard seemed unusually excited and nervous, while Mick, Cisco,Lisa,and Iris seemed tense around everyone ,especially around the each other. Suddenly 

Cisco's head snapped up and said "Rush hour's soon. "  
Everyone started hurriedly getting ready and Barry followed Snart into the back apparently too quickly as he tripped right behind Leonard. 

"Oof. " he had gotten the wind knocked out of him , he looked up and he saw Leonard standing over him ,

"Take a fall Barry?" He teased , maybe a bit more playfully than usual but Barry brushed it off, Leonard outstretched his hand and Barry felt his cheeks turn the color of the apron he was wearing "Need a hand Scarlet ?" Leonard mused with as much sarcasm as he could muster with Barry laying on the floor blushing. 

Leonard thought to himself "Great fucking job idiot, you just said the dumbest thing you could of said!"

Barry took Len's hand in the silence Leonard had and said " Thanks , Len."

Barry mind screamed " I'm touching his hand , wait are my palms sweaty shit!, wait his hand is filled with calluses and is , well frankly cold, but its nice-"

Barry snapped out of his own thoughts and realized he was holding Leonard's hand,holding. His. Hand. Barry froze, Leonard froze , they looked at each other but neither pulled away. 

"Hey!" Both their heads snapped up, hands still intertwined, " We need two LBTs for table four!"( lettuce bacon tomato for anyone who doesn't know) They broke apart and got to work neither one looking the other in the eye.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys so much fluff, I got cavities writing this. Mick and Cisco are such dorkkkkkks. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING

That day was busy from that moment on, so the two never got to have a conversation about the events that transpired between them. They glanced at one another throughout the day neither one catching the other's set of straying eyes . Their days dragged on untill six P.M, when their shifts ended.

Everyone went home for the night , or in Mick's, Leonard's, and Lisa's case came home for an hour until they had to get to class. Within that hour they usually ate , got cleaned up and worked on whatever project they needed for any of their classes . But today there was no class as it was the start of summer break so there was only work. They had thankfully handed in all their assignments so they didn't have to go in for their teacher's "assignment day".

Leonard stretched out on the couch as he got home from work ,he wanted to scream. He had a chance and he buckled under the pressure,but instead he just sat there reviewing his terrible life decisions.

"Something wrong Lenny?" Lisa teased " you need a hand?" 

Leonard glanced over his shoulder at Lisa "You know maybe I do" he retorted with as much sarcasm and anger he could put into five words, "How do you even know about that anyways, are you the new Firestorm ?" He continued on exuding anger. 

Lisa scoffs, " What did you forget who gives you the orders for the back , right near the clear WINDOWS TO THE KITCHEN!" She yells, "DID YOU EXPECT ME NOT TO BE LOOKING IN THERE, AFTER WHAT YOU TOLD ME THE DAY BEFORE!". 

Leonard rolled his eyes " And I also told you several times to stay out of my love life but you seem to forget that a lot, sis ." he said that word with utter malice .

Lisa laughed " I'm your little sister , it's my job to be involved in you love life."

"Well not this this time, this time its , its..... Im not going to say differant because that would be a cliché" his words with still angry and sarcastic but softer at the end.

"And 'do you need a hand, Scarlet' isn't cliché , brother?" Lisa retorted

"Coming from the person who told a girl she was 'the one'." Leonard fired back. 

The verbal battle continued until it was time to go out and celebrate the beginning of the summer . A few weeks before Mick thought it would be a great idea to go to the new bar on the other side of the city called " The Flash". Little did they know other people had the same idea.

A bit ago, when Iris ,Barry, and Cisco got home , they got their plans sorted out. 

Cisco started rambling excitedly"We should go to that new bar , on the other side . Me and Mick were talking the other day-"

Barry raised his eyebrows " Damn Ramon I didn't know you had it in you, youd been talking about that guy for weeks. Is that why you came so late yesterday?" Barry teased. 

Cisco looked sheepishly at the ground and mumbled something they couldn't hear.  
Iris joined in " hmm it looks like you two have been busy these last few days." 

Now it was Barry's turn to look at the floor, he blushed and stammered out " W-well I haven't really been busy. "

Iris scoffed " Yes you have, I can see in there, remember?"

Barry's whole face flushed. 

Cisco laughed , although he was still sheepish, "It's all our shift's talking about, " he continued with a smirk " We're all wondering who'll make the first move. " 

Barry looked st Iris with a "Please help me." look she looked smug and just shrugged. 

"Its true," she teased "personally I think you're too shy to do anything. "

Barry stammered " W-Well."

Iris and Cisco looked at each other with a " You see what I mean. " look, they turned back to Barry with that same look.

Iris started " I mean Bar-"

Barry cut her off " Don't even finish that sentence, just don't!"

"But she's r-" Cisco resumed. 

"Nope,nope, nope please just nope!" Barry closed his hands over his ears " I don't want to hear any of it!"

Iris laughed "Okay, we'll see ,anyways let's get going we have to the bar to meet up with Mick. "

The six people had arranged to meet at "The Flash" at around seven so they got there early incase the other group was already there. So they ended up both getting there early. The bar had a friendly atmosphere to it and it had a moderate amout of people, not too little or nor too large, there was an old rusty jukebox and a new karaoke machine on a stage with a shiny new microphone. There were tables and booths, along with bar stools . They served quick snack food along with drinks, which they had a good selection of. There was soft music coming from the jukebox , a 70s or 80s song someone had selected.

Since Mick ,Lisa, and Leonard got there earlier Leonard went and scoped out the bar. Since Mick and Lisa know Leonard will take a bit and they know who's coming (A.K.A Barry's going to be there) they decided not to tell the other group that Leonard was there.

"Hey!" Cisco said with to Mick with outstretched arms " You made it!"

Mick buried him in a hug " Yep , I did, had to drag Lisa, and Lenny out though, don't tell Allen, or Iris, that Lenny's here alright?"

"Got it. " came Cisco's muffled reply. 

There was suddenly whistling "Cisco , not too shy with the PDA are we !"Iris hollered. 

Cisco blushed (maybe Mick a little too but no-one caught it) and stammered. 

Lisa interjected her voice into Cisco's stammering "Are we actually going to go into the bar or are we just going to   
stand here and watch the show?"

There was a chours of laugher and they all headed in. 

Leonard looked at his watch "What is taking them so long?" 

He suddenly saw a particularly familar face in the crowd , Barry Allens face. " Oh shit." Leonard thought "Hide!" His mind screamed and he did what his mind said and ducked into the crowd and blended in smoothly. 

Barry walked into the bar and ordered a drink , he was sure going to need it with the sister of his crush in the same group as him. Yeah he was really going to need that drink. 

"What am I doing. " Barry though and half mumbled as Lisa sat down beside him. 

"So Barry we need to have a talk. " she said with an edge to her voice. 

Barry gulped "O-Okay. " he managed to say. 

Lisa smirked " You see the thing with my brother is he will try to push himself away, don't let him do that and believe me he'll try, well he says 'this time is different'" she mocked her brother" but I don't know, but I do know that if you hurt him I hurt you" Lisa folded her hands "but you won't do that will you, hmm Barry?"

Barry looked straight into Lisa's eyes "I wouldn't do that to Len , he may put on that tough guy act but if you really see him ,you see that its just a façade to get people not to worry, he really just needs support." Barry ended that word with a voice crack , Lisa flashed that signature Snart smirk

"You'd better be telling the truth about you and him because for each day of pain that you cause him from breaking up my connections will break a bone so you better be. " she got up and disappeared into the crowd but before she was gone she said " Blue raspberry slushee with a vodka shot at 12 00 tomorrow." 

Barry sighed, he really needed that drink ,but by the time he decided on a drink he was whisked away by Iris. 

"So what'd she say?" Iris asked. 

Barry looked at her like she was psychotic " Do you two share everything?!" 

Iris arched her eyebrow in a "So?" look. 

Barry laughed " She told me 'you hurt him , I hurt you' basically. "

Iris smiled " I never told her about you and Leonard. "

Barry looked shocked "So that means-"

"Yep, " Iris chuckled "Well I'll leave you to stew in that information. " then she left. 

Barry felt drunk , Len liked him, he had talked to his sister about him , she was confident enough to tell him that he would hurt him which means that she thinks they'll get together. He was freaking out , but he was happy, he felt lightheaded and suddenly that karaoke machine looked like a good idea. No-one was up there so he thought "Why the hell not," ,Barry walked right up there and selected a song "Hold Each Other" by A Great Big World. The song was originally a duet but Barry didn't care , he was basically high off adrenaline . He heard the music start and he started the first verse. 

"I miss the words we used to say " Barry started. 

"I miss the sounds of yesterday " he ended up scaning the crowd for anyone he knew. 

"I miss the games we used to play like ohhh " He found Mick and Cisco both sitting at the bar. 

"I was trapped inside a dream, I couldn't see her next to me " he found Iris talking with someone he doesn't know. 

"I didn't know she'd set me free like ohhh " He searched and found Lisa who caught his eye and flicked her eyes over to one corner of the bar. 

"Something happens when I hold her" he followed her glance he didn't see anything. 

" She keeps my heart from getting older " he looked over at Lisa again and she just smirked. 

"When the days get short and the nights get a little bit colder" right as he hit "colder" he found Len at the bar drinking, quite heavily I might add.

"We hold each other ,We hold each other " he continued to look at Len. 

"We hold each other " Len looked up and met his eyes as he sang that. 

Leonard was sitting at the bar drowning his stupidity , when he heard someone at the karaoke machine, he didn't care at first untill he heard that person sing. It had a familiar edge to it so he looked at Lisa she smirked and glanced up so he downed his drink and looked up to the green pools that were Barry Allen's eyes. 

"Oh shit, " he thought as felt his face flush, he wanted to look away but nope he didn't and Barry continued to sing. 

"Everything looks different now " Barry continued. 

"All this time my head was down " they didn't break their gaze, Len felt his face flush more red. 

"He came along and showed me how to let go " Barry smiled uncontrollably.

"I can't remember where I'm from " Barry adrenaline was pumping. 

"All I know is who I've become" he put as much emotion into the words as possible. 

" That our love has just begun like ohhh " Leonard could feel Lisa's smirk from across the room. 

"Something happens when I hold him " Barry felt like the luckiest person in the world. 

"He keeps my heart from getting broken "Leonard still held Barrys gaze, although it made both their faces turned more and more red.

"When the days get short and the nights get a little bit frozen "Iris looked up from the person she was talking to , she saw Barry singing to Snart and audibly "Awwwwwwed"

"We hold each other" Barry added a question with a raise of his eyebrows that asked "So?"

"We hold each other" Leonard answered with a smirk that said " So what?"

" We hold each other" Barry smirked back and heard someone faintly say "Just kiss already!" In a voice that suddenly sounded auspiciously like Mick's. 

Suddenly there was a shrill "Oh Shit."

Everyone ran outside to see what was going on and when they got there they saw someone in handcuffs ,a car on fire and several police officers scrambling about. The police had already started to send people home in droves. So   
Mick and Cisco said their goodbyes while Leonard and Barry stood awkwardly . They both had designated drivers , Barry hadn't drank anything so he drove, while Lisa somehow became the other group's. They headed home , all having quite mixed emotions.

"Its a shame you didn't get to finish your song Barry. " Iris snickered out. 

"Barry you sang. " Cisco said in shock "Damn boy, did you sing to Leonard. "

Barry continued to be awkward and told his story while a similar situation was happening. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Shut up, all of you!" Leonard yelled while the others were chatting about the surprise serenade. 

"Oh come on , lighten up Lenny!" Lisa teased "We all know who that song was for. "

Mick laughed the entire way home while the siblings bickered and fought until they got home . All six people drifted into a deep sleep , riddled with dreams influenced by the events that happened that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey thanks for reading this comment and kudos!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this is flufffffffffffy. I died writing this. Barry is a clueless dork and Leonard is a sweetheart.

"Wake up!"

Leonard's face was suddenly assaulted with a pillow and his sister's voice, he just rolled over, and groaned.

"Come on love bird ,you need to get some hangover juice." Lisa retorted with another pillow attack.

"Fine," Leonard moaned into the pillow, "Give me five more minutes."

"Alright , alright, its 11:30 by the way." Lisa stated as she walked out of the room. As soon as she was out of there and into the bathroom she turned on her cellphone.

"You got the slushee?" She asked Barry as he picked up.

"Yeah I'm about ten minutes away." he answered.

"Great, take the stairs when you get here, okay?" Lisa hurriedly said.

"Sure but w-" Barry was cut off.

"No time to explain, bye." Lisa hung up just as she heard her brother's feet on the tile of the kitchen. She made it seem like she was putting her hair up and left the bathroom nonchalantly just as Leonard was going to knock . She just smirked and waited for what was to come. Leonard did his morning routine or at least as much as he could with a hangover. He was in the kitchen when there was a knock at the door.

"Can you get it, I'm making the bed!" Lisa yelled.

"Fine!" Leonard yelled ,fresh out of the shower. He went up to the door, opened it and before he could say anything he saw the face of Barry Allen in the doorway.

"A little birdy told me that a blue slushee was your favorite." Barry smirked but the color slowly drained from his face and quickly reddened as he saw what Leonard was wearing, well the lack of what he was wearing.

Barry's eyes glanced over Len's tattooed torso, he had tattoos covering most of his arms , chest and, back. His chest was covered with a baroque style icy chapel scene and his back was covered with eagle wings that slowly became frosty. His arms had several different pieces forming a sleeve, but out of those pieces the most noticeable was a set of golden wings with the letters L.P.S and a detailed lick of flame with the letters M.H.R ,Barry was transfixed and stopped his sentence.

Barry stuttered "Um -um."

Leonard was also frozen , Barry's face was red, he was breathing hard , and his hair was tousled. "Move , say something!" He yelled in his head, " Um, thanks." he managed to get out "Come on in."

"Who's here!"yelled Lisa , although she already knew who it was. She walked into the room that contained the door and saw an obviously flustered Leonard Snart standing in the doorway, dripping wet and shirtless staring at an equally flushed Barry Allen with his hair tousled, staring at Leonard's abdomen with a mixture of nervousness and admiration. Lisa smirked and drawled out, "Ohh I see." and both men flushed deeper and Leonard glared over his shoulder with a look that said,"Don't even." and, "Please let me do this.".

"Okay, okay , I'll give you two some privacy." She almost laughed out.

Barry was still fixated on the tattoos , he thought he could see something under them but he brushed it off, and he followed Len inside.

Len lounged on the sofa and spoke, "Make yourself at home Barry."

Barry handed him the slushee and sat down next to him, too close to seem friendly but too far away to be intimate.

Len sipped on his slushee , "So what brings you here,?" He mused, "and with my favorite no less."

"Well um, you seemed to be drinking um a lot last night and I thought you would need the pick me up." Barry explained.

"Well thanks, and how'd you know the flavorings? , blue raspberry with vodka isn't very popular from what I know." Len questioned.

"A little birdy told me." Barry replied.

"Hmm and was this little birdy's name Lisa?" Len smirked.

"Maybe, there was a pretty thuggish bird behind her so who knows." Barry chuckled.

There was a muffled, "Thanks Kid!" From behind a closed door followed by a ,once again muffled, "Shut up Mick, they're having a moment!"

"Maybe you both should shut up!" Len yelled twords the closed door, while Barry looked sheepishly at the ground.

"Barry, I'm not going to bite, you don't have to be so rigid." Len smirked , Barry finally relaxed into the couch and put his legs curled around his body .

"So about yesterday..." Barry asked.

"Yesterday was eventful, but what you mean is what about us?" Leonard interjected.

"Yeah."Barry affirmed.

Len smirked "Well I think it's been established that we're both interested in this relationship and from what I've heard here today I'd say the chances of that relationship is pretty damn high."

"So would you like to go out on a date ?" Barry blurted out, " Damn it I sound like a nervous highschooler."

"No, no its,"Len chuckled, "Cute."

Barry blushed harder if that was even possible.

"But isn't a date right now?" Len continued.

Barry stretched his legs out and entangled them with Len's, "I guess it is."

Len brushed his foot against Barry's causing him to laugh uncontrollably.

"Hmm ticklish are we?" Len mused as he tickled Barry more.

Barry threw a pillow at his face as the laughing ensued ,Len repeated the move and Barry erupted in a chorus of giggles.

"Stop!,Len please!" Barry managed to say between laughter, Barry caught his breath and they heard muffled squealing from the other room, and they both rolled their eyes.

"Shut up Lisa!" they yelled in unison.

"Jinx!" Barry exclaimed, "You owe me a drink now. "

"Okay, is that an order or a challenge?" Len inquired.

Barry replied, "Maybe a bit of both. "

Barry's eyes lit up," I have an idea!"

"Hmm what might that be?" Len asked.

"You'll see. "Barry remarked playfully.

He rummaged through the kitchen.

"Do you have cocoa ?" Barry requested.

"Top right shelf. " Len said with a confused look.

Barry got together the cocoa powder, milk, sugar ,salt , a pot and two mugs. He put the ingredients in the pot and turned the heat on low and whisked everything together for about five minutes. When it was nice and hot he poured it into the mugs he had set out.

"Marshmallows?" Was the next question asked.

Len was eating out of the bag, "What these?"

"Yes those." He grabbed the bag from Len and put some in his hot cocoa. Len grabbed the bag back and put some in his.They stole glances at each other while sipping their hot cocoa.

They heard a small creak and Mick walked out nonchalantly and grabbed the marshmallows and walked back into the room .

"Did Mick?"Barry started.

"Yep." Len finished.

They heard Lisa yelling, "You colossal dick!Did you just steal food from them!"

Len rolled his eyes at the argument going on behind closed doors.

"So does this count as your drink?" Len mused.

Barry considered it for a moment, "Nope, you owe me two now" He teased.

"I think that can be arranged." Len got up and sat on the couch after he got two coasters for the coffee table, he patted the seat next to him in a welcoming gesture.

Barry took the opportunity and sat next to him.

Len smiled "Nervousness, stuttering, not looking me in the eye, I'm your first boyfriend aren't I?"

Barry looked at the ground anxiously.

Len leaned closer to Barry and whispered, "Is this ok Scarlet?"

Then Barry closed the gap and kissed him, he could taste the homemade hot cocoa on Len's lips , with a hint of blue raspberry.Len smirked against the kiss and wrapped his arms around Barry ,they cuddled on the couch ,Barry curled against Len's chest, their legs intertwined. One of Len's arms was lain protectively across Barry's chest.

"Thanks." Barry whispered.

"No problem kid, you deserve to be happy." Len replied just as quietly as he pressed a kiss to Barry's head.

"Hey don't call me kid, you're not even a year older than me." Barry swatted playfully at Len's arm.

Len chucked "Fine, would you prefer ,Scarlet?"

"Hmm I have to think about that." Barry mumbled sheepishly.

Barry and Len were steadily draining their hot cocoa and were becoming increasing more reckless with the placement of their mugs, so it was no surprise when Barry's half-full mug knocked into Len's, spilling the content of both mugs onto poor Barry.

"Shit! " Barry exclaimed as he leaped up, his shirt was soaked. Thankfully it was black some didn't have to worry about much staining. After Len was assured that Barry didn't have third degree burns he moved Barry into the shower so he wouldn't be sitting in a hot cocoa filled couch.

While Barry stood there Len rifled through his drawers for something for him to wear. When he returned he saw Barry standing topless, Len almost dropped the shirt he was holding. Barry took the shirt from let with a blush. Barry chuckled and held up the shirt which had a snowflake with a lightning bolt through it.

"Coldflash fan hmm Len?" Coldflash was the name of superhero duo from the 2000s that their creator had revealed to be together, making them the first gay superheroes for that label.

Len opened his palms " What can I say."

Barry pulled on the shirt with a smile. Then they returned to their positions on the couch.

Barry grazed his fingers over Len's tattoo's.

"What's this from?"Barry questioned as he traced his finger over a large pit like scar, right next to his L.P.S tattoo.

"The tattoo or the scar?"

"Both."

Len pursed his lips "Well the tattoo is in honor of my psychopathic sister over there, it's her initials, Lisa Peyton Snart , the scar," Len paused, "is a story for another time."

Barry looked up at him with a heartfelt expression "If you were uncomfortable answering the question you could have just said."

"Well, thank you then, I've never been able to have that with another person before." Len replied.

"No problem, I can tell you've been through a lot and if you're not ready to talk about it then I won't force you."

They snuggled closer and decided to put on a movie, they had many choices as Len's movie collection was enormous, he had all the classics , Star Wars, Star Trek, Grease, The Godfather, The Sixth Sense, The Avengers, most Marvel movies, and many more. They finally decided to put on Grease , at the persuasion of Barry with some comments from Lisa and Mick of course. Len got up and popped the disk into the DVD player, they settled down after they popped a bowl of popcorn. Mick and Lisa decided to come out and sit on the floor, as the newly found couple had taken up the entire couch.

The movie started and for the first few songs everyone was watching semi-intently, Len knew the words even though he'd never admit it to Mick or Lisa. They got through The first credit theme, Summer Nights, and Grease Lightning before someone left, Mick had to meet Cisco coffee and had to go early because he didn't want to The the car. Around "Beauty School Dropout" Lisa left the room for no apparent reason probably to give Barry and Len some privacy.

Barry's mind was taken aback because of the peacefulness of the moment, the only sounds were the movie and their own breathing. It was tranquil. Barry studied Len's face, the way his eyes followed the screen like he was absorbing every little thing, the pain behind the surface of joy. Barry was swimming in those pools of ice. They suddenly flicked down to meet Barry's emerald and penny eyes.

"Is everything alright? " Len cracked a smile.

" Yeah it's just that your eyes are-" Barry tilted his head up and kissed Len, "I hope that conveyed the message." They continued to gaze into each other's eyes taking in the majesty that was each other.

Barry's phone rang with the opening riff of "Carry on Wayward Son"Barry gave Len a small peck on the lips and got up.

" I got to take this "He said with a small laugh, and Len spread his hands in a 'By all means' gesture.

Len could hear the faint sound of the voice, he couldn't make out the words but the voice sounded mildly upset. There was a lot of apologizing going on from Barry's end but the call ended abruptly.

"So what was that all about?" Len drawled.

"I haven't been home all day, Iris got worried." Barry stated.

"I can drive you home, if you want, " Len offered" Just give me a minute."

Len disappeared into his room without waiting for an answer from Barry and quickly changed into jeans and a T-Shirt, grabbed his keys, yelled a goodbye to Lisa and lead Barry out of the apartment.

Len led Barry out to the street. They walked past several worn down rusty cars until they came upon a sleek black Ford Mustang in mint condition. Len clicked the start button on his keys and the engine started and the lights turned on.

"Thi-This is your car." Barry spoke in awe.

"Yep, now get in." Len affirmed while getting in the drivers side.

Barry followed suit. Once they were in the car Len asked Barry's Address.

"I'm at 2643 Ship Street, the D. C building, apartment 17."

Len drove up to the curb and, got out and opened Barry's door, "I'll walk you up."

They got out and entered the building, started up the stairs to the second floor. They said their goodbyes and parted ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im not responsible for any of those who died of fluff poisoning


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry talks to Iris about the events of that day and has a chat with Len. This is a really shit chapter but I cried writing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter with have mentions of abuse after a portion of texting between Len and Barry. So if you will be triggered by that sort of thing then read up till the end of the text portion then skip down to the note to see what you need to know.

Barry closed the door to his apartment in a rush of air and as soon as he turned around to walk into his apartment he was greeted by a slightly pissed off Iris. She looked him up and down with her hands other hips just like a mom.

" Almost five hours Barry, I thought you'd been kidnapped." Iris ranted, "You didn't answer my texts, showing up out of the blue and...and where'd you get that shirt?" Iris narrowed her eyes "You certainly didn't leave home wearing it."

Barry stammered and blushed.

A realization dawned on Iris" Oh my God, Oh my God you had sex with Snart!" Iris spoke in a shocked whisper yell.

"No! I mean it's not that like it would have been great, I mean he's... I'm rambling again shit, it was only hot cocoa." Barry continued his nervous ramblings.

"Hmm okay 'hot cocoa'." Iris smirked.

Iris then lead Barry to the couch so that they could sit down and Barry hid behind his hands waiting effort the oncoming storm that was his sister.

" Tell me everything, don't leave anything out! " Iris demanded.

" Do I have to? " Barry asked.

Iris shot him a glare.

" Okay, Okay I mean so first yesterday when we where at the bar Lisa came up to me and give me the whole 'you hurt my brother I hurt you' spiel and told me to bring A blue raspberry slushee with a vodka shot at noon, and I assumed it was at the apartment we had all done the project in before (Barry, Iris, and Lisa had the same English class) "

" Oh so is that why you woke up so early Ber? " Iris asked.

" Mhm, so I walked there because the 7-11 is on the way, right so im walking and I almost get run over by a cyclist." Barry affirmed.

"I want to get to the good part." Iris says impatiently.

"Fine." Barry groans.

"So Lisa calls me and tells me to take the stairs." Iris gave him a puzzled look, "Yeah I know, so I take the stairs, it takes me about five minutes to get up there and I probably look like shit but I thought it would only be Lisa there, maybe Mick but I get to the door and knock, guess who opens the door."

" No!" Iris gasped.

"Yes." Barry's continued, "So Len opens the door and he's shirtless and dripping wet and we're both staring at each other, but then Lisa asked who was there knowing full well it's me and she strolls into the room and says something sarcastic."

"Sounds like her. " Iris agreed.

"Okay so then he invites me in and I said some pretty stupid things." Barry went on.

"Like what? " Iris inquired.

"Just some stupid things that Mick and Lisa found funny." Barry tried to end the conversation.

"Mick was there? " Iris raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, he stole our marshmallows." Iris gave him a puzzled look "Me and Len had hot cocoa, and then we were cuddling."

"You cuddled Leonard Snart, was this some _extreme cuddling_? " Iris chuckled.

Barry blushed and looked at the floor.

" I knew it you did have sex with him!" Iris exclaimed.

"Iris no! Listen to me. _I._ _Did_. _Not. Have. Sex. With. Leonard. Snart ._ " Barry enunciated those last words.

" Okay whatever you say." Iris laughed.

Barry gave her a glare.

"Continue on. " She ordered.

"Fine, so um we were cuddling and he leaned in and," Barry tried to continue.

"Snart kissed you." Iris gasped.

Barry blushed and stammered "Well... er I kissed him."

"Barry I didn't think you had it in you! " Iris patted Barry on the back.

Barry smiled a smile that contained said both 'thanks' and 'please stop'.

" What was it like?" Iris tried to slip in.

"Nope, I'm not describing my kiss to you! " Barry looked at Iris like she just proposed they break out of prison.

" Fine I'll just text Lisa and-" Iris started nonchalantly.

"No! " Barry refused to have Iris tell Lisa some embarrassing story even if it ment telling one of his own, " Fine I'll tell you."Barry tried to avoid eye contact "His skin is so cold but it's really nice."

Iris leaned forward "Go on."

"The whole thing was great, that's the only way the describe it." Barry shut the conversation down.

Iris seemed content with that "Fine I won't text Lisa," there was a pause "Yet."

" Iris." Barry had a warning edge to his voice.

"Continue and I may change my mind." Iris countered.

"Okay fine." Barry complied "So then I was an idiot and spilt both out hot cocoa's on me and I move to the shower to not ruin the couch."

" Is that all you did?" Iris cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes! I put on the shirt he gave me and then we put on a Grease. Mick and Lisa joined us but Mick had to go meet Cisco. " Barry said defensively.

Iris smirked "Oooh for their coffee date? "

"Yep, Lisa disappeared into the other room and me and Len cuddled until you called he got dressed and drove me here." he smiled at the memory.

"Hmm 'got dressed' so he was  _undressed_ Barry? " Iris interrogated.

Barry felt the heat rising in his cheeks "Iris."

She raised her hands in defence "I'm just picking up on the subtext."

Barry gave her a 'oh please' look.

Iris chuckled "You know what they say-"

"Don't. " Barry knew where this went.

She continued " You can't spell subtext-"

"Iris." he had heard her use this many times before.

"Without S-E-X."she smirked when Barry face-palmed.

They continued their conversation while they watched the Food Network, well it was more like Barry watching 'Chopped' and Iris slipping in a question or two every couple minutes.

Cisco returned from his coffee date and ordered a pizza for dinner. They put on a movie and surprisingly Cisco didn't ask questions about Barry's whereabouts (Mick had filled him in). Iris had to leave as it was getting late and Barry and Cisco retired to bed. And by retried I mean went on their phones for an hour or (not naming any names *cough* Barry *cough*) or more.

Barry was huddled over near his charger. He was browsing over various social media platforms when he got a text. It was from Len.

  _Leonard_ : _~What's up?~_

Barry:~NM you? ~ Barry responded lightning quick.

  _Leonard:~Me either~_ was Len's reply.

Barry:~You sure?~ Barry typed. 

_Leonard:~What's that supposed to mean~_

Barry felt the sarcasm dripping off Len's words. Barry:~I'm just wondering if you're having trouble sleeping~Barry smiled at his screen. 

_Leonard:~Yep,why do you think I'm texting you~_

Barry wondered what his meaning was. He found himself typing ~because you can't open up to anyone else~

_Leonard:~him you might be right~_ Len replied.

Barry:~see I know you better already~ Barry smirked.

  _Leonard:~ooh I'm so impressed~_ Barry laughed at Len's reply.

Barry had to think of a witty response ~you should be~

_Leonard:~why~_ Barry questioned himself also.

Barry:~bc I can get info out if you~ Barry was satisfied with his own response.

_Leonard:~like what~_ Barry already had the answer to this one.

Barry:~Like I now know you can't sleep and that you open up to me :)~ 

_Leonard:~Damn it Scarlet~_ Barry knew he had won.

Barry:~Is there anything else you want me to know~ Barry hoped he wasn't pushing Len. 

_Leonard:~is there anything you want to ask~_

Barry~any bit of information is welcome~ Barry was still a bit nervous.

_Leonard:~OK what do you want to know~_

Barry:~well what are you okay with sharing~ the tentativenss showed through his text.

  _Leonard:~ask a question and we'll see~_

Barry :~favourite colour ~ Barry started off easy.

  _Leonard:~black, You?~_ Barry could guess, it's what he wears half the time.

Barry's smiled at the screen

Barry :~Orange~  _Leonard_

_:~damn would have thought it was red~_

Barry :~now what's your favourite ice cream flavour~ he gave Len another easy one. 

_Leonard:~Mint,yours? ~_

Barry :~Cookie dough~

_Leonard:~ah one of my favourites~_ Barry is going to save this information.

Barry :~next question, who's in your family?~ he thought this was innocent question. 

_Leonard:~living or dead?~_

Barry :~whatever your comfortable with~ Barry didn't want to push him.

_Leonard:~Lisa is my sister,_ _Lewis Snart is my father, even though he was never much of a father to me or Lise, i never knew my mother and I consider_ _Mick family, im guessing yours isn't as messed up~_

Barry:~Not exactly, do you want to talk about it?"~ Barry felt awful now. 

_Leonard:~not like this, maybe after coffee tomorrow?~_

Barry:~ are you sure you don't have to talk about it~ Barry felt like he was making Len do this, so he had to give him a choice. 

_Leonard:~ yeah I'm sure,maybe after work tomorrow~_

Barry: ~okay~ Barry felt like he'd been punched in the get by guilt.

_Leonard:~well not to seem like a downer_ _but we do have work tomorrow,_ _so goodnight Barry_ ~

Barry:~night Len~

Barry rolled over in bed with mix of excitement and nervousness for work the next day, little did he know Len was laying in bed with he same mix. They both drifted off the sleep with the thought of each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~e~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day they both woke up, got dressed, and ate in the same monotonous way. They got to work and surprisingly didn't avoid each other, they had settled into the same run of playful banter that they had had at Len's house. Rush hour came and went and the shop levelled out until the shift ended.

The two men sat down at a booth in a corner once their shift ended.

Len started " I just wanted to say that if you think that you're prying too much, you're not. If you were you'd know."

Barry blushed " You can still back out if you want."

"No, I need to to do this." Len's tough veneer wore off with a smile.

Barry smiled " Start when you're ready. " he took a sip of his coffee.

"Well my father is a deadbeat, he was a dirty copy that drank too much and took out his own mistakes on his children, taught us that a belt was better than a bottle and a bottle was better than a shotgun. So we delt with the pain, the starvation until he got caught. But that didn't last long he came back, worked heists he eventually got thrown in Iron Heights " Len balled his fists. 

Barry grabbed Len's hand and gave it a supportive squeeze.

"After he got thrown in jail we were on our own, the system didn't want us, our mother didn't want us so we did what it took to stay in school and get into college" He sighed "When he came back again, I wasn't there, he found Lisa and...and he hurt her, I called the cops and they got him. He caused us so much pain. "

Barry engulfed Len into a hug and looked into his eyes"Thank you, thank you so much."

"No, thank you I needed to tell someone that." Len smiled a half smile, just the edges of his lips curled up.

"You know if you need to get anything off your chest you can talk or call or text me. Okay?" Barry glanced at Len.

"Yeah I know." The edges of his lips turned upwards a bit more.

They talked for about half an hour more.They talked about everything from family to politics to TV shows ( Sci-Fi were their favourites) but they eventually had to go. They got up belligerently and walked outside. Mick and Lisa must have decided to walk as the car was still there. "Need a ride." Len slyly asks. "Sure." Barry responds as he slid into the passenger side of the car. They drove home for the second time in two days. He walked Barry to his door said his goodbyes and resisted the urge to stay with Barry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the portion some of you may have skipped Len opens up to Barry about his father.  
>  Thanks for reading! 
> 
> comment what you think and kudos!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joe being fatherly, lots of puns. This is s a shit summary and I cried writing this one too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning scene was what I thought of originally, it was originally going to be a one shot but I added some to the beginning and it just took off.

Four months passed and their relationship got deeper than simply a fling. They had gotten to know almost everything about each other, Len's stint in juvenile detention (it was for stealing food for Lisa when he was fourteen) how he met Mick ( Mick protected Len from being stabbed in that same stint in juvie), a lot of embarrassing stories about Barry from Iris. They spent more time with each other than any one else, even at work. But there was one thing Len didn't know, why hadn't he met Joe yet?

Len and Barry had been prepping for today's shift, Len chopped lettuce next to the prep boxes while Barry cut some tomatoes next to him, when he asked "Barry why haven't I met Joe yet?"

Len had tried this before and had never gotten a straight answer it was always "I don't know" or " Maybe later" but Len would find out eventually.

Barry rubbed the back of his neck nervously " Well Joe is a um cop and he's really protective and I'm um... "

Len finished his sentence "Not out yet. "

Barry nodded.

" I don't have to meet him, Barry. " Len drawled.

Barry smiled" Thanks, I just want to tell him first. "

Len chuckled" It's okay Bar I don't want you to rush that." he smiled "besides I don't want to chop up the relationship between you two." he laughed at his own joke.

Barry found the pun to be so terrible as the others he had used, but hey Len said he and the puns were a package deal, and besides Len knew Barry loved them.

Barry finished chopping his tomatoes and had to put them in their prep box, he got an idea, since Len had said such a terrible pun he had to retaliate. So he formed a plan, because Len was next to the prep boxes Barry would wait till he had put his knife down and trip him. Barry glanced over at Len he was almost finished chopping the last of the lettuce.

Once Barry heard the final chop and the sound of Len putting down the knife. Barry then swiftly moved behind Len and tripped him. Len started falling and ended up tripping Barry.

Barry tripped on Len's falling leg sind fell on top of him, his hands were next to Len's shoulder and Barry's knees on either side of his hips. Barry's face flushed as Len smirked and rolled them over so Len was on top. Len then gave Barry a passionate kiss.

There was suddenly a load cough "I guess I don't have to tell you about the birds and the bees, huh Barry." came Joe's voice. (I got the pun skillz)

Barry scrambled out from under Len and started stuttering.

Joe cocked an eyebrow "And who's this?"

Barry stumbled over his words "Th-this is Leonard m-my..."

"Boyfriend." Leonard finished as he outstretched his hand to Joe.

Joe eyed Leonard suspiciously as he shook his hand.

"Leonard..." Joe trailed off looking for a last name.

"Snart." Len answered.

Joe's eyes widened for a second but the look was gone before anyone could notice "Seven o'clock for dinner, both of you. Now can someone get the damn doughnuts I came here for."

Barry went and picked up the four dozen that were the regular order for the station. Len was left to stand there awkwardly with Joe.

" If you or your good-for-nothing father hurts my boy," Joe threatened "you and your father will be in the ground."

" Okay Mr. West." Len drawled a bit sarcastically.

Barry then returned to Joe with the doughnuts, breaking the tension. Joe said his goodbyes and left to go to work.

"So what was that all about? " Barry asked.

Len gave Barry a puzzled look.

"The conversation you had with Joe, he mentioned your father." Bary clarified.

"Oh, well remember my dad, the dirty cop, he's a little infamous. " Len stated.

" Well that makes sense. " Barry agreed.

Len nodded as he got back to work. Barry joined him and the rest of their shift went smoothly.

When they got off work they walked over to Barry's apartment in the chilly October air, Len had wrapped his jacket around Barry as they walked to protect him from the cold. When they got to Barry's apartment they showered, changed ( A lot of Len's cloths had ended up at Barry's) and drove over to Joe's house ( Mick had gotten a truck over the summer so the car had no need to be at Len's).

The pulled up to the curb in front of the West househouse about ten minutes early. Barry grabbed Len's hand as he went to open the door " Are you ready?"

Len flashed Barry a smirk and gave him a chaise kiss " Of course."

They got out of the car and walked up the front steps. Barry rang the door bell and Joe answered. He gave them both a smile "Barry, Leonard come right in."

They walked into the house, hung up their jackets (Barry remembered to bring one this time) and at Joe's invitation sat on the couch.

Iris was in the kitchen cooking dinner with Wally when she yelled "Is that Bar and Leonard?" Barry answered "Yeah it's us. "

Wally walked out of the kitchen "Who's Leonard?" He asked, but that question was quickly answered as he saw Barry and Len's hands intertwined.

"Oh." The younger West sibling said with slight shock to his voice.

Len chuckled while offering his free hand "I'm Leonard Snart and you must be Wally."

Wally's look of shock disappeared for Len but he looked at Barry still with that look of shock. "Yeah, so you two are... Like together? "

Barry answered sheepishly "Yeah. "

Iris yelled from the kitchen breaking the awkward tension" Wally get your ass over here and help me cook! "

Wally scurried back to the kitchen to help Iris before she dragged him in there.

There was another awkward pause once Wally left, leaving Barry, Len and Joe to their thoughts. Barry wrung his hands nervously, waiting for Joe to say something.

Len glanced at Barry with a look of "Are you okay?" and Barry gave him a small nod back and squeezed his hand. There was more awkward small talk until the dinner was ready.

Joe sat at the head of the table with Wally and Iris on one side and Barry and Len on the other. "So, " Joe gestured between the two "How long this been going on?"

Barry looked at the floor "About four months. " Joe nodded while eyeing Len suspiciously and folded his hands

" How?" Barry's face flushed harder and he started stammering.

Len took this question " Well as you already know we work together but you'd have to thank Iris and my sister for us. " Len smirked "They're as thick as thieves."

Barry almost laughed at the terrible and pun and Wally's puzzled look just added to the pun. Joe was not amused, well he was a little amused but he still looked annoyed as hell.

He looked over at Iris "What'd you do this time?"

"I didn't do anything, I just asked the right questions at the right times. "Iris grinned.

Barry knew where this was going and he shot Iris a pleading look.

" Barry do you remember the time you were in-" Iris asked.

Barry cut her off "Don't you dare, Iris."

Len smirked at Barry" She doesn't dare tell we what? Hmm, Iris go on. "

She flashed Barry a shit eating grin" So when Barry was in, what was it ninth grade, he joined the glee club. And there was this little blonde girl named Patty that he liked. Barry worked his ass off to get a spot in the club and guess what he did when he first met her. He tripped and spilt pomegranate juice all over her. "

Len raised his eyebrows at Barry" A blonde huh, do I have to get out the hair dye? "

Wally choked on the pasta they were having for dinner and even Joe cracked a smile.

Barry's face flushed scarlet again.

The dinner went smoothly from there on out. They finished the dinner then Barry and Joe cleaned up the dinner. (Len tried to help but Barry refused to let him help)

They were washing dishes when Joe first spoke. "He's not good for you Barry, the things he's done..." Joe trailed off.

Barry was exasperated " No offence Joe, but you have no idea what you're talking about, he stole to live, he got put in juvie because he was stealing food for his sister. His father wouldn't feed them unless someone was going to their house. Joe I'm sorry but you really know nothing about him. "

"Barry you don't know his father, he'll find a way to get out of Iron Heights and when he does that he'll hunt down everyone close to everyone who got him get put away. That includes you." Joe spoke with malcontent.

"You know what I know Joe, I know Leonard, I know the shit that his father put him and his sister through, I know how he said he was teaching them lessons by his cruelty, " Barry drew a shaky breath, tears filling the brims of his eyes, and sighed "Joe he's not going to get out he's already on trial for another crime he committed, they have evidence he did it. He's not getting out anytime soon." The last plate clattered in the cupboard as Barry put it away.

Joe exhaled "But Barry-"

"But what Joe! Don't you realize I'm not going to leave him!" Barry shouted, this conversation could definitely be heard by the others in the house, "Whatever you say isn't going to change my mind Joe!"

"Barry I-"Joe started. "I'm sorry Joe but I can't, I just can't. " Barry cut him off and left to the living room.

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife, Wally was picking at threads coming off a pillow while Len and Iris quietly watched TV. No one said a word.

Len looked up at Barry as he walked in the room then flicked his eyes over to the door and back to him in a question. Barry shook his head slightly and sat down.

Joe sat down in the recliner next to the sofa. He had his whole attention focused on the cop drama on the TV. After a while of sitting in complete silence, except for the TV, the show ended.

When that happened Len said their goodbyes for the both of them and lead Barry to the car. Once they were in Barry broke down.

"Shh, it's okay Bar, it's okay. " Len hugged Barry's shaking form close to his chest.

Barry curled up into a ball " Please just drive. "

Len separated himself from Barry but kept his hand interwoven with Barry's,"Okay."

They pulled off the curb and got home in five minutes, Len did speed most of the way though. Len pulled up and hastily parked. He guided Barry up to his apartment and when Barry got there he crashed on to the couch.

After a while Len approached him. "Hey, Bar I'd thought you'd need this. " Len smiled softly and offered a bowl of ice cream.

Barry shuffled over to make some room and took the gift, " Thanks." After some maneuvring Len ended up intertwined with Barry.

He kissed Barry's forehead "Joe will come around."

"But what if he doesn't? I can't lose either of you. " Barry teared up again.

" Don't worry, he will. " Len consoled.

Barry scoffed " But what if he doesn't, what happens then?"

"Bar he's not even worried about me, he's worried about Lewis, who will be be in prison in a few months. " Len tried to calm Barry down.

  * " Fine." Barry gave up on the argument and turned his attention to the Game of Thrones rerun that was playing in the background. He eventually drifted into a deep sleep and Len carried him to the bed. Len fell asleep not long after and fell into a pit of anxiety for what was to come.



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys I hope you liked it comment and kudos, also I would appreciate one shot fluff suggestions! I'd love doing work for you guys after I'm done this fic!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this is a litter filler prelude for the next chapter, if you want to skip it just read the end notes to see the thing you missed.

Two months passed and the tension between Joe and Len still remained, although Len was starting to become a regular at the West family dinners. Joe was still wary of Lewis but this had lessened as the months went on. Lewis's trial had been delayed several times because of the trial that was set to be before him had been delayed. Joe tried to get the other trial along but to no avail.

It was Christmas Eve and Len and Barry went out for a little holiday fun while Lisa stayed at her apartment for once. Lisa wanted to steer clear of her brother's apartment because if they came home to his apartment she didn't want to interrupt _that_.

So she was stuck at her own apartment deciding whether to order a margherita pizza from the pizza place on fifth or thai food from down the street. She picked up the phone after about ten minutes of thought and dialed the number for Speedy's Pizza.

"Hello this is Speedy's how can I help you?" a bored voice answered.

"Can a get one margherita special please?" Lisa asked.

"Pick up or delivery? " the voice replied.

" Delivery. " Lisa tried to sound cheery.

" Okay, it should arrive in about fifteen minutes. And that will be ten dollars. " the voice mechanically responded.

" Thanks. "Lisa said as the phone hung up.

She stretched out on her small sofa and turned on an episode of Masterchef sobs he could be entertained while she waited for the pizza. Suddenly her phone rang, there was no ringtone so it wasn't anyone she was close to. She checked the caller ID, it said unknown number. so she picked up.

"Hello. " she said.

There was the sounds of someone's steady breaths on the other end.

" Hello, who is this?" Lisa demanded.

There was an unrecognizable sound, but then there was a voice "Hello darling, Daddy's back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay comments and kudos are welcome and if you skipped here it's found out that Lewis is in fact out of jail. Thanks! I hope you liked it!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't posted in a while, I haven't had access to post in our a month, I'm so sorry. I hope you like this one, everyone is mad and shit happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for anxiety attacks, past rape and sexual assault, and self harm.

Len and Barry rushed to Lisa's apartment and found Lisa sobbing on the floor. 

Len rushed to her side"What's wrong Lisa, what's wrong! You called out of the blue. "

"L-Lewis, he's out. " Lisa gasped out through sobs. 

Len's eyes went wide, and he spoke in a whisper "Barry go call Joe." 

Barry reached for his phone "Len's he's-" 

"Go call Joe!" Len snapped. 

Barry scrambled to dial his adoptive father's phone number "Joe, Joe you got to get to Lisa's something happened." 

"Barry slow down I'll be right there. " Joe's voice came through the phone urgently. 

Len had moved Lisa to the couch " Lisa, sis, you have to ll me what happened. " 

Lisa sniffed loudly" H-he called an-and said he was be back. "

Len breathed a sigh of relief " He didn't come here." 

There was a slam as Joe entered the apartment "Barry are you all right."

Barry rubbed the back of his neck " Yeah I'm, yeah I'm okay. "

Joe stormed over to where Len was with Lisa " You did this, you put my boy in danger. I told you this would happen!"

"How is this his fault, it's not like he broke his dad out of prison." Barry yelled defensively. 

"Barry you don't understand, his dad is dangerous. Lewis will come after you if he finds out you're important to him. " Joe seethed. 

Len balled his fists and opened his mouth to say something but before he could Barry butted in. 

" Joe stop with this bullshit, Just stop. I know his father's dangerous and guess what, I don't care. It doesn't mean that Len is a bad person, it means that Lewis is. " Barry snapped. 

Joe sighed " No you're getting it, you're and danger so you need to distance yourself from them. All of them Barry. "

Len got up from the couch" You think you're so high and mighty as a cop. That people who made mistakes are lower than you." Len yelled " My father is a dangerous man and I made some bad decisions but I made them to support my family. I'd make them again for my family and that includes your son." 

Tears ran down Barry's face and fell with small plops on to the floor . He had taken a seat next to Lisa.

"Joe find out how this happened." Barry pleaded "Please Joe." 

"Fine. " Joe threw a glare at Len" We'll talk about this later. " Joe went to call up the precinct to find out how and why he got out. After a few minutes of heated discussion on the phone Joe got an answer. 

" Barry he's out legally, that trial got thrown out of court four hours ago, apparently the witnesses backed out. That was the only thing keeping in Iron Heights. " Joe stated. 

" Shit, shit, shit,fucking shit. " Len mumbled as he sat down on the couch, head in his hands. Len had started shaking badly and was muttering "No." over and over again. 

Barry rushed to the shaking man's side. He clasped Len's hands in his own. "It's going to be alright, okay Len." 

Barry searched Len's eyes for a reaction, any reaction, but they were blank. Like he had retreated into his own mind.   
Barry gasped out. "Len? Len? Look at me Len."

There was a flash of recognition as Len grappled with his own mind for control over his thoughts. His eyes flicked around the room for a minute, looking for an anchor. They found Barry's own and pleaded for some relief from the hell he was in. 

Barry held Len tightly as he shuddered with dry sobs "Shh, it's going to be okay. You'll be fine, Lisa will be fine, I'll be fine."

Lisa focused on taking deep breaths. As the her tears dried on her face she thought about how she got into this mess. How the first time Lewis got let out he went after her. She thought about the long jagged scar the raked down her collar bone from that night, and how she had similar ones down her back from broken bottles Lewis had thrown at her when she was young. Those scars twisted and distorted as she grew from a small child. Her thoughts drifted to when she was left out on the streets when Leonard was arrested and thrown in juvie. How she lived with a friend of her father's and her scars from that. Long smooth scars that ran down her stomach and thighs, made with a precision that only came with years of experience with a knife. She thought of how he used to make her do terrible things for money, how strange men would come over and look at her like she was a piece of meat. How they made it worse for her if she struggled. But then Leonard come back, he had another person with him. It was Mick. It was Mick who fought off her captor and got her away. Stored her in a safe house so they couldn't find her. Her mind snapped back to the present. She was in her apartment, not in that disgusting shack he kept her in. She was in the present, not the past. 

Joe had been on and off his cell phone making arrangements for a cop to be stationed at his house, Len's, Barry's, and Lisa's apartments. He shakily dialed Iris' number.   
Iris picked up on the second ring "Hey dad what's-"

"Iris, Lewis is out, he called Lisa. " Joe responded. 

Iris gasped " Are you at Len's? I'll be right over." 

"No, stay there. I'll have a officer right over. " Joe commanded through the phone. 

"Okay love you dad." Iris sounded worried. "Be safe." 

"I will. " Joe said as Iris hung up. 

Joe shut off his phone and sighed. How had he gotten involved with these people. Lewis was a criminal and he was one of the worst crooked cops to ever grace Central City with his slimy presence. He delt with rapists and murders. He stole and profited from it, fencing items he stole from the precinct. When he was thrown in jail the first time everyone was relived, until they found out he had children. The timing was too late because by the time everyone found out Lewis was out. The second time he was put away there was a big fuss over the children, but the eldest had gotten custody. Both the children had fallen into bad circles, Len had cut ties with them but Lisa had not. She still hung out with the thieves, prostitutes and drug dealers she had become acquainted with when she was out on the streets. Joe felt bad for the Snart's but not enough for him to be comfortable with them around his family. Joe looked out at the Snart siblings now, both in college, but both terrified of the situation in front of them.

Len was in Barry's embrace, shaking uncontrollably as his panic racked over him. Lisa was huddled into the couch. Her tears had now dried but she still seemed like a shell of her usual self. Her hair seemed flat and washed out. Her face was ashen and sunken in. Her eyes were puffy from crying. 

Lisa was wracking her mind to find some shred of proof that this was a dream. Was there something wrong in the room, was the picture the same as she had last seen it? Had that vase been there before? Her head spun with this newfound idea. Was it a dream? Will she wake up and be a child, alone and afraid, again? She pinched her arm, nothing. She pinched it again, still nothing. She pinched harder, blood stained the white fabric and spread over it's fluffy fibres, but there was still nothing. So this wasn't a dream. 

Joe looked over a Lisa and saw a small stain spreading on her arm. Her rushed over to her and quietly spoke "Let me see that." 

Lisa tried to pull her arm away weakly. 

Len had regained some consciousness and had noticed the situation taking place, he swallowed thickly at the crimson stain "Lise let him see your arm." 

Lisa was still shaky, she struggled to get out words. But manged a feeble whimper.

"Lisa please, " Joe pleaded " let me roll up your sleeve at least. "

Lisa made little effort to stop Joe from touching the sleeve. 

All up her arms there was little crescent shaped marks and scars, some sharing the shape but others being jagged or pinpricks. But the source of the blood was coming from a quarter sized cut with scalloped edges, made from several nail marks. The flow of blood was steady and too much for a band-aid but too little for the hospital. 

"Shit. " Joe swore under his breath " Do you have bandages? "

Len got shakily to his feet " They're in the washroom, I'll grab them. "

" It's not that bad. " Lisa weakly murmured. 

Len was at Lisa's side in the next instance holding some gauze and disinfectant.   
" Here. " Len gave the things to Joe. 

Joe uncapped the disinfectant " This is going to sting okay?"

Lisa nodded, but winced as the fluid was dabbed on her wound using a piece of gauze. 

Joe wrapped the wound with some more gauze, secured it then he stood and addressed Barry " You two go, I'll stay with Lisa."

The couple left with out protest. 

Joe made his way over to Lisa and sat down. 

" Do you want to talk about, "Joe pointed to her arm" You know... "

Lisa fidgeted uncomfortably. 

" You don't have to if you don't want to. " Joe quickly stated 

Liss looked down at the floor, visibly uncomfortable. " Well when I was eleven, Lenny was thrown in juvie and one of my dad's old friends got a hold of me..." Lisa stopped halfway through her sentence. 

Joe became a parental figure in second "I've seen a lot if shit Lisa, not as much as you but I've seen some shit. And I feel for you I really do and I'll do anything within my power right new to help you okay?" 

Lisa gave a little half smile "Thanks." 

Joe stayed the rest of the night, even after she told him to leave. He put on movies, buddy cop comedys of course and watched them with her, trying to get her to laugh after this hard night of crying. She eventually fell asleep on the couch, Joe stayed on watch even though there was an officer outside. He was there the entire time, and he was determined to be a father figure to Lisa, even if he was only a potential father-in-law. Lisa deserved that with all the shit she'd been through. 

In the meantime Barry and Len decided to crash at Len's apartment this time, and they made the way to Len's car. Before Len could get in Barry slid into the drivers seat. 

"I'm fine to drive. " Leonard tried to protest. 

" No you're not, I just saw you shaking in a ball not even a half an hour ago. " Barry argued. 

Len rolled his eyes" Fine, but-"

"Dammit Len let me do this for you" Barry wearily said. 

That shut up Len, who was still silently protesting. 

Barry grabbed one of Len's hands reassuringly "You're not alone in this." 

"I know" Len replied with that same tired tone. 

Barry smiled as he looked at the road ahead. 

The edges of his mouth twitched up at seeing that familiar smile "Thanks. "

Barry took his eyes off the road for a spit second" Anything for you. "

The rest of the ride went smoothly, there was almost no traffic and the sun was setting in the distance. There was the dusty smell of the city all around them , comforting like a blanket. They finally reached Len's and started up the stairs to the apartment. They turned the corner to their hallway and Len spoke in a hushed whisper. 

" Shit. "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey again I'm so sorry for not posting, comment and kudos if you want, it's all appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Guys I hope you liked it, comment what you think!


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